Numb to Bad News

What is happening feels like a slow motion train wreck to me. I am waiting for someone to flip a switch and turn it to real speed. It’s as if people are numb to the bad news. The mainstream media (MSM) won’t report it, and if they do, it is spun to look like something good is going on. For example, the FDIC announced the 17th bank of the year failed last Friday. The MSM doesn’t even bother reporting this ongoing disaster. This works out to be about one failed bank each and every week since the first of the year. For the MSM, this is a great big yawn. (Click here for the FDIC.) Here’s another example of spin from Bloomberg, last week, that said, “Sales of previously owned U.S. homes in March unexpectedly fell for the third time in the last four months, showing an uneven recovery in the housing market.”(Click here for the complete Bloomberg story.) The spin here is, “. . . showing an uneven recovery in the housing market.” To that I say, what recovery? Finally, the most disturbing story quoted Defense Secretary Leon Panetta saying, “We’re within an inch of war almost every day.” (Click here for that story.)That, too, produced a great big yawn and no sense of alarm whatsoever. The only thing more disturbing than the news is the reaction to it. This is why I want you to read James Howard Kunstler’s (Kunstler.com) latest post. He brilliantly sums up what’s going on in the world and why you should be concerned in the post below. Enjoy. –Greg Hunter–

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As If Nothing Matters

By James Howard Kunstler

Guest writer for USAWatchdog.com

The world gave the appearance of doing nothing and going nowhere over the past month – apart from the sensational liaison of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, which, some believe, augurs a dazzling speed-up of the much prayed-for economic recovery, return to full employment, $2.50 gasoline by summer, and the selection of Jesus Christ as VP running mate by Mitt Romney – but, in fact, so much trouble is roiling under the surface all over the world that it makes you feel seasick on dry land.

It is true that the European financial fiasco is a story of such fantastic mystifying complexity that the public can’t possibly be expected to follow each twist of the plotline. But the fact is that nothing was fixed for Greece or after Greece and the hazard of evermore profound wreckage is assured. The only question is how many months before the appearance of normality in financial matters yields to fighting in the streets of supposedly civilized countries.

Spain, it was revealed this week, has turned to a form of finance that could only have been designed by M.C. Escher.

The plan for stabilizing Spain’s hemorrhaging insolvency position works as follows: Spain’s big banks borrow billions from the European Central Bank (ECB); the Spanish banks then turn around and lend the Spanish government the money to fund a bailout operation for the Spanish banks; the Spanish banks then use the bailout money to buy Spanish sovereign bonds, that is, lend money to the government. The world received news of this dangerous idiocy with a yawn. You’d at least expect a few Germans to choke on a bratwurst here and there.

The idea that shenanigans like this can continue must amuse the historians looking on. But three weeks into April so far nothing has penetrated the stupendous wall of illusion that separates money matters from reality like the one-way mirror in the interrogation chamber of a police precinct where every last officer of the law is on the take.

The lesson in the first quarter of 2012 is that when anything goes, nothing matters. Jon Corzine, chief of the fraudster operation MF Global is still at large how many months after his firm pulled an abracadabra disappearing act on $1.2 billion of segregated customer accounts, many belonging to farmers and ranchers engaged in the normal options trade in commodities prices necessary to their business?¬ Nobody has been fired at the Chicago Mercantile exchange or the Commodities Futures Trading Commission for this, either. No newsman has asked President Obama about any of these things, or how come Jon Corzine is still listed by the re-election campaign as a continuing major contributor. The New York Times, for one, is much more focused on major bullshit propaganda operations, such as its recent giant spread on how America will soon be an energy independent oil exporting nation.

No one in the American media is paying attention to the unfolding tragedy of Japan – and by this I refer not only to the unfinished Fukushima saga, but the parallel story of Japan closing down virtually its entire nuclear power industry necessitating gigantic additional imports of oil and gas to generate electric power – all of which points to the likelihood that Japan will become the first advanced industrial nation to bid sayonara to modernity and return to a neo-medieval socio-economic model of daily life.

The Middle West and North Africa still smolder away like giant root fires. Nothing has been settled politically and the prospects are excellent that Islamic maniacs will shortly be in charge of Egypt and Libya, not to mention Syria, or even America’s trillion-dollar battleground of Afghanistan where, after ten years of persistent struggle, we can’t control either the terrain or the behavior of the people who dwell on it. Meanwhile, half of Sudan’s oil production was blown up over the weekend. And King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is not getting any younger at 88. Saudi spare oil capacity won’t matter so much when the kingdom is up in flames.

What I wonder is how long the American public will remain in its Kardashian trance. At this torpid moment no one believes that any theoretical political cohort in this land – tea-partiers, swindled youth, professional lefties (or what’s left of them), or the fugitive thinking centrists (wherever they are) – might bestir themselves to bust up a nominating convention or march on one of many debauched institutions in the nation’s capital, from the SEC to the wax museum formally known as the Department of Justice. I think differently, though. I think this grim interval of crisis consolidation is drawing to a close and, like the buds swelling on every tree in New England, events will soon burst into astounding efflorescence.

About the Author

Greg Hunter

Greg is the producer and creator of USAWatchdog.com. The site’s slogan is “analyzing the news to give you a clear picture of what’s really going on.” The site will keep an eye on the government, your financial interests and cut through the media spin. USAWatchdog.com is neither Democrat nor Republican, Liberal or Conservative. Before creating and producing the site, Greg spent nearly 9 years as a network and investigative correspondent. He worked for ABC News and Good Morning America for nearly 6 years. Most recently, Greg worked for CNN for shows such as Paula Zahn Now, American Morning and various CNN business shows.

Comments

George Too04/23/2012 •

Greg,
This is classic desensation to an onslaught of bad news. However, when the Lemmings in the back see their friends falling off the cliff, some will try to go lateral ;-), these are the ones that will bring an insolvent banking system to its knees. Just 11 years ago, the Argentine government seized all US Dollar accounts in banks there, traded them one for one for the peso and then did a 40% devaluation. It was devalued 75% before a year was up.
Look for the US Gov’t to seize all the 401K’s. After all, those evil middle class savers have to be punished. What, did someone think rich people actually had money in these things…you’re kidding right?

Great article. Especially the last sentence regarding events “bursting”.
What does it take for people to see & understand the truth?
Perhaps we are a zombie nation fed by the media.
Sad. I wish there was a land of freedom & great leaders who believed in doing the right things for its people. That used to be America.

Better find my old rusty copy of the movie Network and try to remember how we get to places like this.
It’s just one big gambling casino and the pyramid is being reset yet again. I’m not sure if any reported figures are anything more than fictional digits for our viewing pleasure.
The larger objective seems to be large fish swallowing smaller fish to make managing the ocean easier for those who manage such things.
Looking at the middle east and the way we are involved seems to indicate the intentional installment of super bad guys to enable a big wiping out of “useless eaters” world wide.
This is real Alice in Wonderland stuff.

Greg. another clear cut goody
You’d at least expect a few Germans to choke on a bratwurst here and there. Love it! Slow motion choking.
Jon Corzine at large. In tennesee we have laws aginst allowing dogs to roam at large..maybe we need to redefine (dogs).
Finnally im glad to see the word shit being used for its proper term.
First used in the shipping of spioled goods meaning ship high in transit.s.h.i.t. however some things were to spioled and were tossed overboard into the sea of forgetfullness.

Just what in the hell are they hiding? You could also ask, why nothing has happened with all the distortions created in the markets and daily life. Have they created so many mini-crisis, that the word crisis has lost its true meaning. Has OWS and the Tea Party lost thier effectiveness and become just another forgotten headline. Will the exchange of blame in this election be enough to hide the storms in the Middle East and Europe? Another round of false promises.
If you think that all those new laws and execative orders were enacted to protect you or I, you better think again, as they are for the protection of corporations and those in power. You be damn. All they want to do is control the burn.
It is not any wonder that we do not have a united people in the streets. A nation of zombies medicated by the newest physcotropic drugs. An educational system that serves as an introdrination into Marxsism and the replacement of individual self worth and identity by materialism.

I just can’t tell you exactly how accurate your post is this morning. I follow current events around the world on a daily basis and am in utter disbelief of how ignorant and insulated even the most inteligent people are, including my own family. For more than a year now I have been at a loss of how to explain it. What I am resigned to believe is that people know down deep that something is wrong, but because of the daily routine to keep one’s head above water, nonsenical distractions, MSM lying, cultural decay, and insulation from ones fellow citizens, people either don’t want to know what’s going on or don’t care to know.

The only thing that will wake up the masses is when we enter the realm of where Greece currently is. By that point it is too late. Final collapse is under way and we will be at war with ourselves.

Greg, thanks for having a guest “columnist,” so to speak. I can assure you and Mr. Kunstler that not all of us are asleep, but I agree that the vast majority of people in at least the U.S. are tuned out to the gathering storm. If you are tracking responses to this post I’m wondering if Mr. Kunstler could suggest why he thinks apathy is so high. In my opinion, there is always a percentage of the population that will be apathetic in most circumstances. Those folks aside, however, I tend to think that Americans are complacent because they simply cannot imagine that things will get as bad as many of us think. They seem to have a mental block when it comes to the issue of societal hardship and I suspect this is because conditions in the U.S. have been good for so long. The Sheeple are fat and happy and practically none of them have ever experienced an economic shock like the one that’s coming. Because they cannot imagine it, they will not respond to the warnings. It is the nature of most people to do nothing until confronted with the disaster directly. By then, of course, it will be too late.

Great stuff Greg.
Here some more stuff that hit the net late Sunday, it’s very interesting to hear & after please follow the comments, it’s very heated to say the least. http://www.chrismartenson.com/blog/harvey-organ-get-physical-gold-silver/73993. Boy the fire works went off in the comment section, GATA, Ted Butler Harvey Organ are just a few who were called nothing but ‘charlatans’ who know nothing about the way the markets works. ‘Erik’, who does the name calling has great respect for Jeffery Christian of the LBBA, ‘a man with great knowledge & experience in the gold markets’. I don’t want to spoil the rest of what is said, so I will leave it up to your readers if they want to dive off into such topics as market manipulation of silver/gold & much more.I have to say, this man’s reply to ‘Erik’ is great, ‘An obsession with being “right” isn’t always the best way to teach”!

Again Martin Armstrong sends us a warning & it on his site. http://armstrongeconomics.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/04-22-2012-behind-the-curtain.pdf. Barber Boxer & Joe Lieberman have both been busy, Joe wants to put a kill switch on the internet, truely nothing about our security but more like a full attack on free speech, then Boxer’s highway bill has wording to ‘suspend’ your Passport if the gov is investagating you, really do you believe all this is not a direct attack on your & my freedoms? They are hurting for money, they need your money to stay in power. Where do they get such ideals? Well England will start monitor all email coming in & out of country! This is why we need term limits!

Greg, I could keep listing links to articles all day, but like you said, who cares any more? My own family members except for a few think I am crazy for being alarmed at all the news that goes un-reported or spun to make it look as all is well in the U.S. and the world. I wonder what it will take to wake up americans to the BS going down daily across this nation? Like copper, silver & gold all down today, silver down over a dollar! I can not help it, I found this & I will not post the link, but folks can go to http://www.coinflation.com & read the article to ‘Silver & Tin’ that has not been reported by the MSM business new works.

Well I do care about what goes on in the U.S. & the world, that’s why I visit your site daily, thanks again Greg for bringing us the ‘real news’.

In one of Virginia’s largest cities — covering 60 square miles — home-mortgage foreclosures continue at an average rate of two per work day. That barometer alone should tell us a scary tale about the government-touted “recovery.”

Every time I remind myself of that loss and disruption, I feel a tinge of guilt — for my mortgage has been paid entirely (for years now), I have no credit card debt, and I’ve managed to keep some savings. But when the domino effect of failed banks escalates into my territory, how long can I escape the fate now facing us all, at various levels of exposure? The guilt, alas, is being overshadowed by apprehension.

You, Sirs Greg and James, have become the Paul Reveres of the 21st century; it’s not the British who’re coming: it’s the Greeks/Italians/Spanish/Portuguese! — Larry W. Bryant (23 Apr 12)

Dale,
Some of your money should be in physical gold and silver coins (NOT ETF’s.) How much is up to you. I hope this helps you. I wrote a post on the home page called “Learn How to Buy Gold and Silver.” Here’s the link: http://usawatchdog.com/how-to-buy-gold-and-silver/ I do not sell gold or silver so I do not care where you get it. I wrote the post because people are constantly asking me what to do and how to do it. I don’t want to see people get riped-off. Good luck.

Why would anyone worry? The last time we faced the demon in the eyes the government started up the presses and printed one solution after another. Nothing is learned and nothing has been gained by the living through the “Lessons of our past”. I find it as difficult today and ever to speak to people about hard times a coming because they are not allowed to live them. We all know here on this blog that a lesson unlearned is compounded by time and we are running low right now. When the s@#t does hit the fan, All we will realize is that all this putting off the inevitable has done is make the fan bigger and the S@#t more abundant. No one gets out of this untouched in my opinion. Even those of us who have prepared. Cleared out the last of my 401-ks this year to avoid the government takeover I see coming and I have no regrets.

Thanks for another informative article Greg. I think we all suffer from the tyranny of technology, information comes at us so fast it is hard to process it. Many choose to ignore it and with the help of the MSM, they can. Who wants to read or learn about possible bad stuff when the “news” beams nothing but feel good or sensational stories at us 24/7. The MSM is like the town cryer of old “All’s well” go buy a new Ipad or the latest video game.

The rest of us can do what we can to prepare, but the frustration is knowing there is nothing we can do to change the course of coming events.

I don’t think we’re not wanting to see the bad news heading our way. It’s just that many of us are barely keeping our heads above water. There is not enough extra money to keep us safe from the train wreck heading our way. To me it feels like tossing a penny in the ocean. I am well aware of the earthquake on the horizon, but just like a real physical earthquake, I feel completely powerless to stop it or re-direct its path.

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Greg is the producer and creator of Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com. The site’s slogan is “analyzing the news to give you a clear picture of what’s really going on.” The site will keep an eye on the government, your financial interests and cut through the media spin.

USAWatchdog.com is neither Democrat nor Republican, Liberal or Conservative. Before creating and producing the site, Greg spent nearly 9 years as a network and investigative correspondent. He worked for ABC News and Good Morning America for nearly 6 years. Most recently, Greg worked for CNN for shows such as Paula Zahn Now, American Morning and various CNN business shows.